


Forget Speed Dating, Let's Fast Forward To Love

by hazelandglasz



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Best Friends, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-01-17
Packaged: 2018-03-07 21:13:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3183404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelandglasz/pseuds/hazelandglasz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by Arthur Aron's study on intimacy between strangers (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/fashion/no-37-big-wedding-or-small.html)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forget Speed Dating, Let's Fast Forward To Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lurkdusoleil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurkdusoleil/gifts).



Blaine seems a bit lost in thought as he joins Kurt at their usual bar, and not for the first time, he decides to put his crush on his friend in the back seat to be a good friend.

"What's eating you?" he asks, pushing a little shot in Blaine's direction.

Blaine sighs and sips on it before turning to Kurt. "I had to break thing off with Eli."

Kurt keeps his celebration to himself. "Oh?"

"I know you never thought we were very compatible," Blaine says with a crooked smile. "But last night was just a nightmare--how can he know so little about me that he thought I would appreciate a dinner in the dark?"

Kurt snickers and waves at the waiter for a new round of drinks. "You should try Aron's study, on your next date."

Blaine drinks the whole shot and frowns. "What study?"

Kurt wiggles in his chair. "I read something in the New York Times, gimme a second ...," he says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. "There, look."

They both lean over the screen, and Kurt tries not to sniff Blaine's Cologne.

That is hard. So, so hard.

The waiter returns with their drinks--one Long Island Iced tea and a tall 13 oz. glass of Mojito--and Blaine, as usual, picks up one mint leaf to chew on it.

He's thoughtful for a moment before giving Kurt a long look.

"Wanna try it?"

Kurt freezes, his hand suspended over the table in the direction of his own drink.

“What?”

Blaine takes a sip and sits back in his chair, untying his bow and leaving it around his collar--way too unfair. “Let’s do this, if only to check how accurate it is. You’re my best friend, I should think I know you by now.”

Kurt takes a long sip of Long Island, trying to wrap his mind around the “promise” of the study.

“What if we fall in love?” he asks, and there is a sudden electricity over the table that Kurt hasn’t really felt with Blaine since they moved on from being work acquaintances to being best friends.

Blaine twirls his straw in the glass, eyes focused on Kurt. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

All the air seems to be sucked out of the room for a moment that lasts between a second and a century, and then Kurt straightens his shoulder. “You’re on. Question 1,” he reads, taking the phone closer, “Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?”

\---

“ Question 9, for what in your life do you feel most grateful?” Blaine asks, the straw stuck at the corner of his mouth making him slur a little.

“Hmm, for having the best dad in the world,” Kurt replies without needing to think too much about it.

Blaine nods, pushing the phone back to Kurt. “Your dad is pretty awesome,” he says, a crooked smile stretching his lips.

“That he is--can only hope that it’s hereditary,” Kurt says before taking a sip of his drink.

“Don’t need hope then, you are pretty awesome,” Blaine says simply, shrugging when Kurt raises one eyebrow at him. “What? Just stating the truth here. Go on, I’m waiting for my question.”

“Alright, your Highness. Ten : if you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? Oooh …”

“Let me think it through,” Blaine says, looking up before returning his gaze to Kurt--it is part of the experiment, after all, to keep staring in each other’s eyes. “I wish I could have been taught that my best was enough.”

“Your best is more than enough, Blaine,” Kurt replies, feeling the need to reassure Blaine.

Who is smiling gently at him, leaving his hand on the table, palm up. “I’m trying to see it.”

\---

“Nineteen: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living, and why?”

Kurt takes the time to scoop a nacho, heavily loaded with cheese and jalapeños before replying. “I would do all the things on my bucket list, for starters,” he starts, “to go without regret you know?”

Blaine chuckles. “Did you make it in high school or later?”

“Junior year.”

Blaine’s chuckle turns into a happy laugh. “God I need to see it someday.”

“Someday,” Kurt replies, plucking the phone from his fingers--and if he takes longer than strictly needed, it’s his own business. “Twenty, what does friendship mean to you?”

Blaine swipes his finger on the edge of the plate, sucking on it before replying--but never breaking the eye contact with Kurt. “Friendship means … support, happiness, the good kind of challenge. Family beyond blood.”

Kurt nods along, and starts giggling when Blaine starts whistling the theme of ‘You’ve got a Friend in me’. “You dork.”

Blaine sticks his tongue at Kurt, only making him laughing harder.

\---

“Twenty-six: Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share …”

Kurt gulps the last drops of his Long Island and takes Blaine’s hand.

“I wish I had someone with whom I could share the rest of my life and the very nice mattress i just bought.”

“In that order?”

“Not necessarily, but it is a distinct possibility.”

“Interesting.”

“Interested?”

Blaine digs into the glass for a lone leaf of mint before wiggling his eyebrow. “A distinct possibility.”

\---

Blaine squints at the phone before returning his attention to Kurt, eyes dark as he licks his lips. “Thirty four, are you ready?” he asks, smiling at Kurt as he trails the tip of his fingers on Kurt’s knuckles. “Alright, here goes: your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be, and why?”

Kurt flips his hand, shivering as Blaine keeps the trailing of his fingertips on his sensitive heart line. “What would I save from a fire … My mother’s old perfume bottle, because it’s all I have left of her, except my memories of her of course.”

Blaine’s smile grows fond. “It is a beautiful bottle, I’ll give you that, and the perfume it still contents is …”

“Empowering, if you ask me.”

“And you’ve never considered buying a new one?” Blaine asks and Kurt is almost shocked.

“It wouldn’t be the same--I don’t keep it for the perfume, but for the memories it triggers.”

“Of course, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Kurt says, closing his fingers around Blaine’s. “It’s sweet that you thought about it.”

They look at each other and smile, not even bothered by the noise around them in the bar.

It’s like it’s only the two of them, in their own little world, with the soft lamp above their heads and the glow of the phone on the table.

“Thirty five,” Kurt reads, voice softer, “of all the people in your family, whose death would you …”

\---

“I just … never thought about it that way,” Kurt says, in awe at the excellent advice Blaine has just given him. “I was just so angry and resentful, it became all I could focus on.”

“I know.”

“You’re a better person than I am,” Kurt jokes deprecatingly and Blaine immediately reaches for his hand.

“Don’t say that, Kurt, you’re the bravest, most compassionate, most forgiving man I’ve ever known.”

“Now you’re just flattering me,” Kurt replies, but he can feel his face heating up with a blush.

“Again,” Blaine says, his thumb brushing Kurt’s wrist, “just stating the truth. I’ve always thought so.”

“Why didn’t you say anything then?” Kurt needs to ask, he has to ask.

He needs to know if he’s misreading things, if it’s just the “experiment” working.

Or if he is not mistaken and he didn’t build the whole thing in his head.

Blaine breaks the eye contact there and then. “Because I was afraid to lose you?”

Kurt tilts his head to the side. “How would you lose me by saying how you--”

“How I feel about you?” Blaine ends the sentence for Kurt, leaning his head against his closed fist. “Think about it, Kurt.”

Kurt has to force himself on his next intake of air.

“How--how you …,” he repeats, in disbelief. “Didn’t you see how I felt?”

“How you…,” Blaine says, echoing Kurt, the two pairs of eyes widening. “God we’re ridiculous.”

“Oblivious.”

“Damn straight stupid.”

“Not so straight,” Kurt snickers, and before they can even realize it, they are both laughing hard enough to have tears building in their eyes.

“So stupid, though,” Blaine says, once again offering his hand to Kurt, and once again, Kurt takes it, linking their fingers together. A hushed silence settles down on them, and Blaine’s lips slowly stretch into a smirk.

“What?” Kurt asks, eyes darting from Blaine’s eyes to his lips--God, now that he knows that they are within his reach, he craves their touch even more.

“Just thinking about question 26.”

Kurt’s mind jumps to the memory and he smirks back at Blaine, eyebrow raised in flirtatious challenge.

“Is that so?”

“Fondly so.”

“Care to take this … experiment elsewhere?”

Blaine stands up, coat over his arm. “Oh, darling,” he drawls before leaning close enough for Kurt to taste the mint in the air out of Blaine’s mouth, “the experiment has been done for a while now.”


End file.
